Invitation to Provence

Experiencing the rustic charm of French and Mediterranean cuisine at Kebun Bistro.

The long and busy street of Hanoman is renowned for being the location of several impressive eateries. Kebun Bistro is one of them. Since opening its door five years ago, the casual restaurant continues to flourish and expand. The space gets wider, accommodating its growing and loyal customers’ needs. As we arrive at the bistro, the sun was just recently set and Ubud is getting slowly back to being the village it once was. Visiting Kebun Bistro requires an empty schedule because the ambience will seduces its visitors to sit back and linger. No visit here should ever be rushed.

There are the green potted plants and hanging vines, earth coloured walls and curvaceous iron lattice on the window. The feeling of being in an open-air veranda of somebody’s house in a small town of France is made even more real with the mismatched chairs made of wood and rattan as well as the square white marble table tops.

The menu is taking its inspiration from Provençal cuisine which relies heavily on the use of olive oil, fresh herbs, sun-kissed vegetables, and influenced by the light Mediterranean cuisine. I am glad to report that its wine cellar is stocked with fine wine collections from France, South America, Australia, and beyond. My starter arrives right after I finished my first glass of a fruity Shiraz. A bowlful of escargot submerged in a luxurious bath of butter, oil and the fragrant chopped parsley is a morsel of good life. The snails are plump and juicy while the accompanying baguette is crusty. In no time at all, what remains on the plate is just crumbs.

Sharing the grilled sesame tuna salad with my friend turns out to be a good idea since the portion is quite generous. The tuna is medium rare and goes very well with the citrus dressing, sun-kissed tomatoes, avocado, black olives, rucola, and asparagus. It makes a nice change after the flavourful escargot.

As the quintessential French dish, the duck confit also meets my expectation. It is meltingly tender and can be easily pulled from the bone as a result of slowly being cooked in the oven for three hours. The accompanying green peppercorn sauce adds a depth and soft heat into the dish.

We close the meal with the mille-feuille. The sweet vanilla custard cream and layers of crispy pastry is served with a slightly sour strawberry coulis. All in all, it was a balanced and beautifully presented dessert. A romantic French chanson is playing in the background and we finally agree on another glass of Chilean Chardonnay before slowly making our way home. An evening well spent is one with good wine and good food. Fortunately, tonight we have both.